Ryan Coogler’s ready to go back to Wakanda. Marvel Studios announced at its famous San Diego Comic-Con Hall H panel on Saturday that “Black Panther 3” is joining the MCU calendar with a release on Dec. 15, 2028.
And when it arrives, there will be a new Black Panther with it. David Jonsson, who starred in Lionsgate’s adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Long Walk,” will join the cast as the son of King T’Challa, played by the late Chadwick Boseman.
T’Challa’s son, who bears his name, was introduced as a child in the final scene of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in 2022, where he was introduced to his aunt Shuri, who took the mantle of the Black Panther in T’Challa’s place in the film and will continue to bear it in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” this December.
Though this is the first direct confirmation of Coogler’s trilogy capper from Marvel Studios, the film isn’t exactly a total surprise. Coogler said on the awards trail for “Sinners” (a film that won him Best Original Screenplay, his first Oscar personal) that he intended to return to Wakanda as his next project after that smash sensation (and after his “X-Files” reboot).
Perhaps even more loose-lipped about the project is Denzel Washington, who has said as far back as 2024 that he intends to act in a superhero movie for the first time in “Black Panther 3,” with a part Coogler wrote specifically for him.
Coogler followed his smash sensation “Black Panther” (the first superhero movie to ever be nominated for Best Picture) with the 2022 sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which was massively restructured after the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman in August of 2020. In that film, his sister T’Challa’s sister Shuri (played by Letitia Wright) followed her comic book lineage by becoming Black Panther herself. She maintains the role in “Avengers: Doomsday,” which also showed off some new footage at Comic-Con.
But there’s been speculation over the years that the Black Panther mantle might switch hands again, either through T’Challa’s son (introduced at the end of “Wakanda Forever”) or via recasting of the part Boseman originated. Damson Idris, who played opposite Brad Pitt in last year’s “F1,” has been rumored to take on that role himself — rumors he’s played coy about in the past.
If a recasting or an age-up is in Coogler’s head, “Avengers: Secret Wars” provides a roadmap for making that a reality. The Jonathan Hickman/Esad Ribić comic book event on which that film is based features the dying Marvel multiverse reassembled into one patchwork reality known as Battleworld by an all-powerful Doctor Doom (played in the MCU by Robert Downey Jr.). That comic ends with Reed Richards (aided by the Molecule Man) recreating the Marvel universe with some notable changes — such as the inclusion of Miles Morales, who previously resided in the Ultimate universe.
The last issue of “Secret Wars” also sees Black Panther in possession of the Infinity Gauntlet, using one of the gems to transport himself back to Wakanda as Battleworld erased around him. If the eventual “Secret Wars” film placed Shuri in a similar position, it’s not hard to imagine her making some changes of her own to the Marvel landscape — such as bringing her brother back to life.
